Trees closely packed against one another on a relatively sunny day bristled as a small wind pushed by. A small creature deftly navigated its way around the branches, leaping while crawling around. Today was relatively quiet, there hadn’t been many Pokemon wandering this forest.

This small creature was also a Pokemon, with a small build, white and blue fur, small paws, and a large tail with three blue spikes right around the top of the tail. This Pachirisu wasn’t just hopping around for fun; he was on a bit of a mission. He was looking for someone, something, although he didn’t have much of a clue what he was supposed to be looking for.

For days now he had been circling the forest surrounding the nearby town but hadn’t been having much luck. He knew that they expected this of him, that they expected him to find nothing, to keep him out. But he was determined to prove them wrong, one way or another, no matter how long it took.

Until, on an area close to a small paved dirt road with stones, he peered below the trees to find something peculiar. Unusual.
Peering closer, he noticed that it looked like someone. He perhaps thought this individual looked like a Snivy, if that was the species name, anyways, with all the usual features, slender body, leafy tail, short green arms, green with a subtle bluish tinted skin with golden markings and features in the usual spots. It was laying on its side with its tail slightly laying propped up on the tree it was near. Its eyes were closed, although it looked no worse for wear.

After pondering for a second, the Pachirisu started moving towards the tree under which this Snivy resided. There didn’t seem to be too much concern, but he didn’t recall seeing this Snivy before now, and while he knew Grass-types often liked to hang out in forests like he did, there was something odd about this Snivy that he couldn’t place his mind on why. He should at least check if it’s okay and not knocked out.

After hopping down the tree onto nearby rocks that lined a small ledge where the Snivy was laying near, the Pachirisu climbed down right next to the Snivy. Worst case scenario is that if he was attacked, he would at least be able to shock it and run off, but he wasn’t quite that afraid. He was resistant, after all; both in type-matchup and just mentally speaking.

He got a little closer, and noticed that while it did look to be in some form of sleep, it didn’t seem to exhibit any injuries or wear. But then, he wasn’t really looking for that and was at least glad it didn’t appear hurt, so it wouldn’t hurt to see if this was the chance, right?

“Hey, you OK?”

The Pachirisu wasn’t particularly loud, but it was in a tone enough to rouse most Pokemon from a light nap really easily assuming that were the case. But the Snivy continued resting. He repeated the above, slightly louder on the second attempt.

He checked by tilting his head and leaning slightly to the side and there was faint movement of its chest that looked like breathing, so it’s not as if the Snivy had been knocked out to any particular extreme. Maybe it just slept really heavily?

“Hey, are you OK? Wanna make sure you’re, like, not dead or anything.”

Continuing for a couple of more attempts, he considered the option if the Snivy was hurt by something that he couldn’t see and who he might be able to talk to in-town if the Snivy didn’t get up. But he didn’t have to worry for long.

*Music: Bonneton – Super Mario Odyssey

Nothing. Black.

Slowly, there came to be sensations of weight and of being pressed against something. Was he outside?

Slowly his eyes opened, and immediately felt some sort of discomfort. Was he light-headed?

It was bright, as if it were the middle of the day. Not only that, but there appeared to be wind, and fresh air. This was bizarre. Nothing like the room he came from.

“Hey, you OK?”

A voice, sounding masculine nearby, not his own. He instinctively pressed his arms against the ground, ignoring strange sensations that passed through his body in the direction of the sound. He was outside, maybe this stranger knew what had happened.

When he came face-to-face with the source of the sound, he only found what appeared to be a white squirrel. Then slowly, his eyes slid down to his own body.

“Oh, good! I thought you were dead or something, that’s good to know!”

But this was ignored, because shock began to overtake anything else he was thinking. His arms-no, his entire body was green? There was a gold striped marking travelling down his long slim body down to a leafy tail, with a cream-beige underside and golden-yellow leaf-like structures on his neck protruded. In the corner of his vision in front was a long, green snout. What had happened?

Slowly, he became aware of the strange sensations that this change in body structure had offered him while he held himself up with only his front arms, he became acutely aware he was much smaller than he used to be and how odd all this felt, besides being slightly dizzy from waking up so suddenly, there was a sense of relief, as if he’d just had a really good sleep. The voice spoke up again.

“Uh, you okay? I wanted to check if you were okay, you seem awful quiet. You’re not hurt or anything, right?”

He turned his head again; this squirrel creature was giving him an inquisitive look. In catching the last part of the sentence, it dawned on him that the squirrel was the one who asked the question. In finding his mouth, he fumbled trying to word it, until settling on,

“…A talking squirrel..?”

Immediately a look of confusion appeared on the squirrel’s face. “…A… what? Squirrel? I have no idea what you’re talking about. You OK?”

Then, his mouth slightly gaped, seeing that the squirrel was actually talking. He wanted to give in to the fear of this bizarre circumstance, but at the same time, he figured there had to be a reason for this. A dream, maybe?

“U-um… You wouldn’t happen to know what happened to me, right? Like, what I am?”

He wasn’t expecting much of anything, but then the squirrel looked slightly taken aback. “N-no, that’s why I came to see if you were alright,” he responded. “Sure you’re not injured, or anything? I haven’t seen you around here lately.”

He didn’t feel hurt, amidst all the weird new sensations he was experiencing none were particularly painful or too uncomfortable. Even that dizziness seemed to be temporary; it was basically as if he’d just gotten out of bed after sleeping one of the greatest nights ever slept. Well, that would be the case had he not woken up a lizard monster in the middle of a forest.

“I-I swear, I wasn’t like this when I went to bed. I was human, I know I was,” he slowly stumbled out. “Not… whatever this… THING is.”

“Human?” the squirrel responded. “I don’t much know what you’re talking about; you look like a perfectly normal Pokemon to me.”

“A… whatnow? Pork?”

“Uhhhh, a Pokemon?” He leaned in closer with a look that suggested he wasn’t entirely convinced this wasn’t some sort of play, with narrowed brows peering right into him. “What else would you be?”

“I-I swear I was human, I know I was…” He slowly could recall his room, among some other details, albeit a little scattered as he tried to speak them out, “I had a room, a home, a family…. I even had a name, yeah, I just don’t… know how I came to be THIS” he wiggled one of his arms to insinuate he was talking about his new body.

“I haven’t heard of no humans around here-“the squirrel continued, until a look of realisation came to his face, and then what looked to be… glee?

“Wait a second; you’re one of them Amnesiacs, aren’t you?”

Now he was even more confused. “Wh-what?”

“Y’know, one of those Pokemon that loses all their memory? They’ve been popping up all over lately. Do you recall your name? I’m Pachuku. I think I might know how to help you!”

He said this with a look that suggested he was confident in this assertion, as it looked like he was puffing himself in pride, although as the now-Snivy thought, while some details he couldn’t recall in specific at the moment, he had full clarity of most of the basic aspects of the life he lead before this, at least necessary for this moment. It then dawned on him he needed to introduce himself. He wasn’t much for introductions as a human, but now after leaving himself blank for most of the conversation, he felt ridiculously stupid for not introducing himself first.

“I-I’m… Sanvu. I don’t quite think I’m amnesiac, cause I recall being human, I just don’t remember how I turned into this creature,” he worded. He wasn’t trying to sound overly assertive, instead speaking in a measured tone. He took another glance down, internally figuring that maybe the reason he couldn’t recall certain details was because it might just be some kind of dream, although his state of wakefulness gave him some doubt on this. He also wasn’t much of a lucid dreamer; he was pretty lazy and had never been able to do it, so that was quickly tossed aside.

However, Pachuku then bounded past him a small distance, ending up behind Sanvu down the road a distance. After moving a couple of steps, he turned around to face Sanvu again.

“If you can follow me, I know the way to the place nearest here, Mindscape. If you’re claiming to be human, you’ve gotta be some kind of Amnesiac. They can probably try and help you regain the memory you’ve lost and we can get you on your feet again!”

Pachuku was practically bouncing as he said this, although Sanvu was a little doubtful. Somehow, he figured that this squirrel-Pachuku, wasn’t entirely going to believe him if he didn’t know what a human was, and he didn’t think himself particularly amnesiac, but if he was really genuine about this place perhaps being able to show him the way, he could at least start by getting his bearings.

Although, as he tried to get up it dawned on him that he didn’t really know how to get up, let alone walk with this new body. How would he hold his tail, and what was his posture? He still hadn’t seen his own legs yet, outside of a quick glimpse of what looked like curly nubs. He tried to get up, only to stumble forward the moment he stood on… something, he wasn’t even sure what his legs were yet.

Pachuku crept forward. “You… can’t walk?”

Now this bothered Sanvu, in the annoyed sense. Surely it wouldn’t be that difficult to walk in this new form, assuming he knew even how to work his legs, if he had them.

Pachuku then came closer, and helped him stand, pushing him up as he pushed in to the usual stance. Sanvu was surprised that the fur appeared to feel fizzy, but otherwise ignored that. Then he backed off, as Sanvu wobbled in place for a while. “Do I even have legs?” Sanvu mumbled, half a rhetorical question.

Pachuku then spoke up anyway, oblivious to the context. “You have legs, I forget how you guys stand; it’s like, on the edge of your feet or something.”

Slowly but surely, Sanvu began to get used to the feeling, it was as if he was on tiptoe, but where human feet would experience discomfort after a while this felt natural and grounded. Great. Now he was getting used to it. Now it was just the slight discomfort of the lingering question of walking.

Pachuku bounded a small distance, as Sanvu tentatively took a few steps forward. It didn’t take long to remember to walk, somehow, it was as if they were slightly smaller legs; but besides that, it was as if he’d at least been given the knowledge on how to walk. Good, at least that was out of the way now, although the question of where that sense came from briefly flashed his mind before disappearing so that he could focus on following Pachuku.

While Sanvu was slow at first, he slowly picked up, and Pachuku began to bind on ahead, albeit at a brisk pace.

~~

“So, what’s a Pokemon?”

Pachuku ahead took a slight look back. “Well, it’s what we are. I’m a Pachirisu, and I think you’re a Snivy.”

“A… Snivy?”

“Yeah, I think that’s your species. Haven’t seen many around.”

A Snivy. This seemed to raise more questions. None that Sanvu could really put into words. It’s not as if he’d heard of what a Pokemon is either, but he assumed they were a stand-in for a living creature in this odd reality.

The path eventually opened up out of the forest into a small town. There were huts all around made primarily of metal, wood or some other material, in various combinations. Roads were dirt with some stones here and there littering the path. There were also patches of grass, along some ponds he could see in the distance.

The place wasn’t hard to spot, at least, since it was a particularly large building and the first one that could be seen from the direction they were coming from. The roof was metal, and it was particularly large although not too much larger than most of the other huts, it was more wide than tall; although since the two Pokemon approaching it are particularly small, this might as well have been the equivalent of a building with multiple stories to them, even if it was just a little above human height.

In walking inside the glass doors that seemed to open on their own, there was a brief flash of light, then a small green bird Pokemon hopped off what looked like a small stool. “Pachuku, correct?” it asked.

Pachuku wasn’t fazed. “I got you an Amnesiac, Notey, so show me to Didra.”

The Natu peered behind at the Snivy, who was looking back with a look of curiosity. It sighed and then ran off, flapping. “I suppose this will be good,” he murmured in a low tone of voice.

Some time passed so they could actually look around the room. The walls and floor were somewhat plain, the floor covered with what seemed like a carpet with some rugs and mats. There were several entrances to other rooms, many blocked by some sort of glass-like door similar to the entrance. Despite the primitive look outside, the inside looked fairly modern, barring some parts like some of the windows looking a bit kooky.

It wasn’t long before a long, tall figure entered the room. “What have you gotten for me this time?”

The trio had entered a room to the left of the entrance after a small hallway where a few more rooms with glass doors were passed. The tall Pokemon escorting Pachuku and Sanvu appeared to look like a woman, primarily white and green, with small red horns extending from its centre. A notable feature was long, tendril-like flaps extending from its body resembling a dress.

The room didn’t appear to have that much light; no windows were present whatsoever, with only some pillows and some stools. However, the room was dimly illuminated by some rocks that appeared to give off a certain glow and these were placed around the room in small jars on small pedestals mostly in the corners and nearby to some white boxes that reminded Sanvu of counters.

The Gardevoir sat down on a small stool, while the two stood near a mat. It then spoke up.

“Pachuku, you know I can sense Amnesiac energy, right?” She sounded somewhat exasperated.

He appeared to shrink a little at that. But he continued. “Yeah, but you said to find even one individual. This guy’s claiming to be human, of all things.”

The Gardevoir then sighed. “Pachuku, this does not seem to resemble an Amnesiac.” She turned to Sanvu. “I’m sorry; I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Didra. Who would you be?”

“I’m Sanvu.”

“Right, Sanvu, it appears Pachuku’s roped you into this, so can you tell me why you’re here?”

He considered for a second that while it might sound outlandish, he might as well try again. “I woke up outside in some kind of forest. I know I was human before I woke up there. I was told you might be able to help me?”

She brought a hand to the side of her head, closing her eyes. It made her look like a disappointed mother. “…Right. I see.”

“Might I ask what’s going on here?”

She sat a little further up, opening her eyes, tone still low, “There have been many Pokemon losing their memory lately. We refer to them as Amnesiacs. It’s different from ordinary amnesia by the fact that they exhibit a strange energy around them and that the types of memory lost seem to follow a pattern.”

He tilted his head, letting it soak in. She continued.

“Generally they lose extremely personal information. Sometimes they forget what type they were, or a move they used, or their name, or memory of someone important to them, such as a family member.”

“Sometimes even a favourite berry,” Pachuku mentioned.

“Yes… You see, I had given Pachuku here a stipulation that he should at least find one Amnesiac before joining our operation here. There haven’t been quite as many popping up as there used to be, but they still pop up now and then. Though I didn’t expect him to find any and given what I can tell from you, he still hasn’t.”

Pachuku cringed somewhat at this. He looked kind of down. He began to rub his paws together in what looked like an anxious tic.

“So, off you go, Pachuku.”

Sanvu then interjected. “Wait, so, how do you tell if someone’s an Amnesiac or not? For all you know, I could be one.”

Didra didn’t appear fazed. “I’m part Psychic type, Amnesiacs tend to emit a type of energy that I’m particularly sensitive to. I have the capacity to sense emotions; Amnesiacs that we’ve worked with at Mindscape tend to exhibit that energy particularly strongly compared to regular Pokemon. While I’m not particularly sure if you were actually human or not, you’re at the very least not an Amnesiac, that much I can tell.”

Pachuku then weakly piped up. “But, aren’t like, humans myths? Wouldn’t this be an unusual case?”

Didra looked down at him. “Humans appearing are a bit out of the ordinary, but I didn’t ask you to fetch me a human, now, did I?”

He looked defeated, when Sanvu asked “What should I do, then? I don’t exactly envy the idea of not finding out why I became like this.”

Didra looked at him with something resembling pity. “I suppose I could give you a basic rundown on how things work around here, if you really are a human, anyways. We’ve heard of them appearing, but it’s a relatively rare occurrence. I can see where Pachuku would have messed up, given our current situation being as it is.”

Sanvu postulated for a second about this information. Pachuku had believed that he was an Amnesiac because of his humanity, but at the same time, Sanvu could tell there were nagging details about his previous life he couldn’t exactly recall with full clarity. He knew he was human, among some other things like that he was a young adult and lived in a family, but he couldn’t help but feel that Pachuku wasn’t entirely incorrect on his assertion, and a brief glance at his defeated stance told him all he needed to know.

“So, if he had found an Amnesiac, you’d have accepted him?”

“Yes, but given he’s generally a pretty weak Pokemon, and his own history, it seemed pretty unlikely.”

“Then I’d like to join this place with him, since I don’t believe he was entirely incorrect.”

Pachuku turned sharply in his direction, mouth agape. “Y-You what? But I failed.”

Didra also looked slightly confused. “You’re not an Amnesiac as far as I can tell though.”

“Sure, but maybe this is connected. Even though I know I was human, I don’t believe he’s entirely incorrect, and I’d like to look into it in case there’s some connection between that whole situation and why I’m this thing now.”

She looked at him thoughtfully, clearly thinking. She looked at Pachuku and then back at Sanvu. “You’re sure you want to partner with him?”

“So long as I can still learn some basics about this world I’m pretty sure I’m fine with that.” His face was unchangingly neutral, despite the internal struggle of anxiety he felt while wording this.

She got up. She was markedly taller than them; both had to crane their heads up particularly. “Well, do you have a name for the team, then?”

Pachuku then recoiled. “I hadn’t actually thought of a name cause I figured I wouldn’t find anybody yet” he replied.

Sanvu thought about it for a while, the word coming to his head. It had to do with mind, since it had a lot of meanings in this moment. He didn’t mind helping Pachuku because Pachuku had gotten him here even if he hadn’t been fully right. He wasn’t in the right state of mind, and neither were other Pokemon, having to be reminded of details seemingly obvious to their own lives. He was about to be provided a state of mind about what the world was like. It seemed obvious then.

“Minders”

“Hm?” She grunted.

“We’re the Minders. Since we’re doing so much related to memories and mental stuff.” Sanvu noted. “Although, I’m not sure what we’ll be doing, exactly…”

Didra then smiled “Well, I’ll go register your team then. You wait right here.”

She then walked past them and out the door. Pachuku stared at him, mouth ajar.

“W-why would you-“

Sanvu gave him a careful look, eyes focusing. “I may not remember everything, but I’m not stupid. It’s as I said, you’re not entirely wrong, and whatever’s going on they should at least get someone who’s at least interested in helping regardless of whether they’re ‘good’ or not. Besides, if this situation and my coming here are even slightly connected, there might be a good chance I can figure out why I’m here. At least with you, once I can get my bearings, we can look into this together and see if that’s the case.”

“A-and what if it isn’t? She’s right, y’know, I’m not exactly powerful. Should’ve just let me take the fall.”

Sanvu put a hand to his side. “Then we can at least look into why it’s happening regardless. If it afflicts anyone at random then I would guess they’re probably desperate for help anyways and they just don’t wanna let it on.”

Pachuku gave him a pensive face, clearly confused. “You’re weird.”